Albany International To Buy Harris’ Composite Aerostructures Division

April 4, 2016

Rochester, N.H.-based Albany International Corp. has announced it will purchase the composite aerostructures division of Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla., for $210 million including the assumption of a $23 million capital lease. The transaction is expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter or early second quarter of 2016.

The division is a supplier of advanced composite products primarily for airframe applications including Lockheed’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Boeing’s 787, and Sikorsky’s CH-53K, among many other applications.

The acquisition is projected to be slightly accretive to Albany’s earnings in 2016, with projected 2016 sales in the $80 million to $90 million range. There is an anticipated ramp-up of the JSF, 787 and CH-53K programs, and assuming no significant slippage in program schedules, sales are projected to exceed $200 million by 2020.

“While we believe this acquisition would have been justifiable on a stand-alone basis given the division’s growth potential, and while we are confident that AEC [Albany Engineered Composites] and the division each have the capability to realize their respective growth potential on their own, we see compelling and multiple forms of complementarity, all of which point to opportunity for additional growth late this decade and into next decade,” said Joe Morone, president and CEO, Albany International.